Protected blade and package



Aug. 20, 1946 J, OS 7 2,406,242

PROTECTED BLADE AND PACKAGE I Fiied April 6,-1944 IN V EN TOR.

Patented Aug. 20, 1946 Gillette Safety Razor Company, Boston, Mass,

a c orporation of Delaware Application April 6, 1944, Serial No. 529,752

This invention relates to the protecting and packaging of'th'in-edged blades, such a safety razor blades, between the stages of manufacture and use.

In handling safety razor blades under commer- 'cial conditions of transportation and distribution and in the more or less casual treatment of such blades by the user, the extremely fine keen edge of the blade is likely to become dulled by being brought into contact with its wrapping or with other'objects before it can be'actually clamped in shaving position in the razor: On this account the best and most skillful efforts of the manufacturer in sharpening blades are often brought to naught because of the damage done to thevery fragile and delicate structure of-the blade edge after it has been brought to the keenest possible shaving condition and before the shaving operation isactually undertaken.

An important field of use for my invention is in connection with open-end blades, that is to say, blade having a longitudinal medial slot opening through one unsharpenedend of the blade. Such blades are adapted'for use in safety razors wherein the cap and guard members are connected for only limited separation to'receive a blade presented edgewise between them, as well as in safety razors in which the cap and guard membergrnay be entirely detached from each other.

The present invention is applicable to open-end blades and permits the user to insert the protected blade in having position between the slightly separated cap and guard members and then to strip the protective cover from the blade by pulling it endwise while the blade remains in its shaving position.

The present invention deals with blades of a type which it is desired to protect at the time and place of manufacture by enclosing them in a wrapper or envelope. The wrapperoverlaps and safeguards the sharp edge or edges of the razor blade and must be removed eventually to make the blade edge accessible "for shaving; It has sometimes happened that in stripping the wrapper or envelope from a blade already positioned in a razor the envelope has become entangled with the razor and has been torn, leaving a portion of it in the razor instead of being withdrawn intact. Such an occurrence is an annoyance to the user because the torn portion'of the wrapper must be extracted from the razor before it can bev satisfactorily organized for shaving and this not only delays the user but it introduces a risk of cutting'hi fingers. With these conditions in view an important feature of the present inven- I tion consists in a razor blade-protected by anenvelope or Wrapper having extended portions'o'r wings which project outwardly from the blade beyond or between any'part of the razor that might otherwise obstruct free removal of the wrapper. Going more into detail, the present invention contemplates providing the blade en'- velope with wings which extend forwardly beyond the end of the cap and guard members' of the razor, these wings serving as guides to dire'ct the body of the Wrapper'and prevent it from catching when it is pulled endwise out from be tween the cap and guard members.

Theinvention include withinits scope it new and improved package of protected blades of the character above described. -It is desirable to secure the protected blades in stack formation within the package in which they are dispensed and to hold the individual blades in position against shifting While the package is being transported or handled after it leaves the place of manufacture. This is important because otherwise the keen, sharp edge of the razor may work itself into contact with the folds of the wrapper and-thus lose its original ke'ennes's.

With these conditions in view an import-ant feature of the invention consists in a blade pack age including in its organization a supporting frame of sheet material having cooperating ears or lugs constructed and arranged to engage the shouldered protected blades of a stack in such'a manner as to prevent their longitudinal or'transverse shifting and at the same time providing within the package adequate space for projecting wings on the Wrapper or envelope.

Theseand other features of the invention will be best understood and appreciated fromthe following description of a preferred embodiment thereof, selected for purposes of illustration and shown in the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. 1 i a View in perspective on anenlarged scale of a partially opened blade package; V

' Fig. 2 is a view'in perspective of a safety razor head, part of the cap being broken away to show portions of a protected blade;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the razorhead and blade as seen from beneath; and g Fig. 4 is a View in cross-section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1.

The invention is shown in its application to a double-edged open-end blade of the Gillette 3 steel between .003 and .007 inch in thickness, has a central longitudinal slot H and reentrant recesses ineach of its corners, which define elonated unsharpened portions l2 at both ends of the blade. Each individual blade is protected by a wrapper l3 comprising upper and lower elongate leaves extending slightly beyond the cutting edges of the blade and including tongues l4 and ii at opposite ends which overlie the elongated end portions of the blade. The two leaves of the wrapper are connected and folded over the shoul-- ders of the blade at its open end on both sides of the elongated end portion of the blade and at both'sides of the tongue l5. The wrapper has also ears I6 at one end which are folded trans- In practice, a protected blade may be inserted endwise between the cap 21 and the guard 26,

while these two members are disengaged. and

separated sufficiently to afford a, blade passage" as shown in US. Letters Patent No. 2,342,160,

versely over the tongue 14 and the enclosed end portion of the blade. The upper and lower leaves of the wrapper I 3 are cut away internally fully to expose the slot ll of the protected blade.

In Fig. 1 four blades. are shown in superposed stacked relation with the open end of each blade'directed rearwardly or toward the left. At the opposite or closed end of the blades both leaves'ofeach wrapper are provided with forwardly extending wing portions l1. These wings are flush at their outer edges with the outer edges of-the'leaves of the blade wrapper l3 and are curved inwardly and rearwardly at their forward ends forming a deep vallei or notch in the contour of the blade wrapper. 4 .In Fig. 1 the four blades are shown as assembled between the pasteboard or fibre covers l8 and I9 of a blade package, all being held together by a staple 20 which passes through the rearwardly extending tongues l of the blade wrappers. The package includes in its structure a thin metal plate or sheet 2| which is crimped at its longitudinal edges over the side edges of the lower package cover l9, extending across the same from side to side beneath the blade stack. At both sides of its rear end the plate 2| is transversely slitted and its material folded upwardly to form a pair of upstanding folded ears 22 spaced apart to engage the shoulders of the elongated end portion of the blade III at its open end. 'At its forward end the plate 2| is also slitted and its material bent up to provide a stacked blades and therefore hold them positively against longitudinal displacement. The double ear arrangement at the forward end of the plate 2| is desirable on account of the specific shape of the forward end of the blade wrapper l3 due to its extension wings l1. The upright ears 23 fit into the slots defining these wings where the folded ears would not pass.

Normally the blade package is closed by a folded end portion which is represented in Fig. 1 as having been torn ofl to make the blades accessible. The cover I8 is shown as partly lifted and the individual blades may be removed one by one from the package by swinging them up above the ears 22-43-24, and then tearing them away from the staple 20. The manner of usinga protected blade in connection with a safety razor having connected cap and guard members is shown in Figs. 2 and 3. The razor therein shown comprises a handle 25, a guard member 26 and acap member 21. The

.grantedFeb. 22,' l944,'to the applicant herein jointly with Nicholas Testi. The protected blade may be moved fully into shaving position inthe razor since its open-end longitudinal slot ll permits it freely to pass the blade-locating ribs 28, or the blade may be placed directly on the cap and the parts then assembled. The protected blade is then held in shaving position by exertin yielding pressure upon the cap and guard members and the protective cover is removed by grasping the projecting end which encloses the tongue I4 and pulling the wrapper outwardly while the blade itself is held against displacement.

by the ribs 28 and the stem of the cap. It will be noted that the wings I! extend outwardly from beneath the corners of therazor head with the result that the protective cover may be stripped completely and cleanly from the blade and removed from the razor head without damage and without leaving any fragments thereof in places where they will obstruct the shaving operation. Having completely stripped and removed the rotective cover the blade-clamping operation may be completed upon. the bare blade and the razor thus made ready for the shaving operation.

Having thus described'my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent: j 1. A safety razor blade centrally slotted and having shoulders defining unsharpened end portions in the blade. in combination with a pro tecting wrapper having elongate leaves folded transversely upon said shoulders at one. end of the blade and slotted to expose the slot of the blade, the leaves of the wrapper being wrapped about the other end portion thus holding the 'blade against transverse displacement in' its wrapper, and wings on the Wrapper extending forwardly beyond the shoulders at either side of the wrapped end portion of the bladeand thereby serving as guides to direct the body of the wrapper and prevent it from catching when pulled endwise out of a razor.

2. In a blade package having a fiat sheet with spaced upstanding blade-locating ears and adjacent folded ears therein; a protected blade disposed between the ears of the package and having a flexible wrapper covering the body of the blade between said ears and wings projecting outwardly at one end of the wrapper beyond said upstanding ears.

3. A package of protected blades including cooperating covers having upstanding ears presenting thin edges and adjacent folded ears located within the outline of the covers, and a 

